J A A C Wijesinghe^1,, I. Wicramasinghe¹, K.H Saranandha²

This study search for underutilized flour source, obtained from Kithul (Caryota urens) trees in Sri Lanka which is potentially valuable as food ingredient for the industry. The aim of this paper is to discuss the Physico-chemical and functional properties of Kithul flour. The protein content of the flour was 1.0% while the total fat content was 0.33%. It contained considerable amount of Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium and Iron content as 70.1, 59.5, 66.6 and 14.0 mg/100g respectively. Total starch content was 66.82%. In the case of Amylose content, Kithul flour contained 28.42% while amylopectin presented 71.32%. The high moisture sorption value has presented by Kithul flour samples as 29.47%. And also being high density flour (as 0.69g/cm³) this will be better thickener as well as a stabilizer in baking powders and as an emulsifier in the food industry. The measurement of gelatinization temperature which was obtained by Differential scanning colorimetric method was 76.74 °C, while enthalpy for gelatinization of Kithul flour was 11.12 J/g. The least gelation concentration (LGC) was 6. Length of the granules ranged from 26.5 to 64.7 μm and width of granules ranged from 7.0 to 56.9 μm. Three types of granular shapes as oval, spherical and irregular globular shape were exhibited. By considering all above Physico-chemical properties there is high possibility to use Kithul flour for empower the food industry, simultaneously strengthening the Kithul Industry with rural economy in Sri Lanka.

Kithul flour, Caryota urens, Physico-chemical composition, mineral content, DSC, FT-IR